Detroit mayor: Vacant housing project coming down

By COREY WILLIAMS

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Associated PressDETROIT (AP) A notorious, vacant and crime-ridden housing project that has overshadowed downtown Detroit for decades, a symbol of the city's decline, is slated to be pulled down early next year, Mayor Dave Bing said Thursday.

Police and firefighters frequently respond to reports of crime and arson in the massive Frederick Douglass Homes complex, and demolishing it will allow scant city emergency resources to be deployed elsewhere, Bing said.

"It's going to take us, probably, the better part of a year to get everything down," the mayor told reporters at a news conference in front of the hulking complex. "This total area will be cleaned up."

A $6.5 million federal Housing and Urban Development grant will cover the cost of tearing down the 75 condo-style apartments, two 6-story buildings and four 14-story towers. Soil remediation the removal of any below-ground pollution is included in that tally.

The city has no set plans for redevelopment of the complex where a young Diana Ross and the Supremes spent some of their pre-Motown years. Past proposals have included a mix of new homes and retail establishments.

Frederick Douglass Homes was not always a blot on the landscape or a dangerous place to live. Formerly known as the Brewster-Douglass housing project, the 661 units were completed in the early 1950s to provide affordable homes for working-class people. The last families vacated in 2008.

The 2010 census confirmed what many Detroiters already knew: thousands of people have migrated from the city in recent years. Some 30,000 homes stand vacant and abandoned buildings litter the once-thriving industrial center.

"We're gonna have good memories about this place," Bing said of the Douglass Homes and its legacy. "We've not done anything with it. It's become an eyesore. We've got to think about now and our future. Our future is demolishing this."

In the 1920s and 1930s, Detroit became in dire need of inexpensive housing as automakers and other manufacturers expanded and attracted a large workforce. Construction of the Frederick Douglass Homes took years and was completed in 1952.

"I know there's a lot of history here. I'm sure some people may even think that it shouldn't come down," Bing said. "But as we look at changing the face of Detroit this is going to start with this."